Ian Johnston's Lecture on A Doll's House talks about the oppression of women in middle class marriages during that time period. He calls it dehumanizing and that her exit from the marriage was "the most famous dramatic statement in fictional depictions of this struggle" In the late 1800's and the early 1900's, it wasn’t common for women to leave a marriage, it was always the man that ended the marriage and the women kept the children. During the time that A Doll's House was being written, women were just starting to gain their independence and starting to be their own advocates. In 1900, the divorce rate was 0.7 and in 2008 it was 3.6. If there was a divorce during in 1900, the women kept the children and cared for them. Most likely, the children would never see their father again. Even in today’s society, being a single father isn't that common. Most women have custody over their children and become single mothers.
This chart shows the areas of the United States where the greatest amount of single parents live at. Women are represented in orange and men in blue. The greatest amounts of single parents live in big cities, or near big cities. It would be assumed that Nora and Torvald live in a city, so naturally there may be some other single parents in their city.
In the late 1800's and the early 1900's, it wasn’t common for women to leave a marriage, it was always the man that ended the marriage and the women kept the children. During the time that A Doll's House was being written, women were just starting to gain their independence and starting to be their own advocates. In 1900, the divorce rate was 0.7 and in 2008 it was 3.6. If there was a divorce during in 1900, the women kept the children and cared for them. Most likely, the children would never see their father again. Even in today’s society, being a single father isn't that common. Most women have custody over their children and become single mothers.